“Today we have the naming of the parts.” In the poem “Naming of parts” written by Henry Reed, the author uses subtle text to get his message across. The poem could be interpreted in two ways; One way is that the poem depicts a group of military recruits receiving a lecture from their chief officer on firearms and how to use them. Another interpretation of this poem could be about love and what young men should do with their roles. In the spring they should learn what to do; and have fun. The young men play a vital role in this poem, learning more about guns and the birds and the bees, which is aided by the many interruptions that help bring this idea to fruition. The men play a vital role in the poem, as the general uses his military to help guide and train the "soldiers", he also distinguishes the role that the men will have to play later, once the war is over and over. To help realize this idea, it is developed through speaker, imagery and irony. The poem can be interpreted in two ways: there are two speakers, 1 person speaking and the second person is who she is speaking to. Throughout the poem, the speakers change from line to line. In the second stanza: “It is the lower swivel of the sling. And this / This is the upper swivel, the use of which you will see, / When you are given your slings. This could be a direct comparison of a general speaking to his troops and discussing the parts of the rifle. The general could have had two reasons for discussing the rifle; one might think that he must train his troops or “soldiers” to fight. The next step could be that once the war was over, many soldiers would have been killed in battle and the population would be significantly lower. As this poem was written in 1946...... middle of paper ...... expresses two essential roles in World War II, it shows how army officers should act and know all their parts , that is, knowing all the rules and regulations, but also knowing the importance, how to use guns and weapons. Officers must also understand that once the war was over, there would be great losses of men. The poem is subtle in the sense that one must truly read and understand the poem before making assumptions. As I read the poem several times, it took me a while to fully understand what Reed was trying to interpret. The duties of a common soldier would be: to wage war and engage the enemy; but also, after the war ends, they should return home and follow the general's orders, find a suitable wife and start a family with her. There are always duties for soldiers, for they always have a vital command to oblige.